When Drodosis and George returned, with clothes that had turned red from the blood, Helena almost fainted, while Roland, his father, was glaring at the duo.
"What's the meaning of this, George?", Roland asked in a severe tone.
However, Drodosis wasn't going to let his father punish his new loyal subordinate just like that!
"Father, I wanted to test out my new crossbow, when we suddenly encountered a pack of wolves. They were numerous and hungry, so George had a little bit of trouble killing them off! I was so scared!", Drodosis answered, in an innocent tone.
"Drodosis! You will be grounded for the next three months! You can forget about your swordsmanship lessons with Lara. The only moment you will see and talk to people will be in your morning meals. Did I make myself clear?", Helena shouted, in a cold matriarchal voice.
"Yes, mother.", Drodosis helplessly answered.
"George, seems like I didn't make myself clear last time. However, seeing that arm is in such a bad shape, I will let you off this time. Don't let my son get injured one more time, or else you can bid goodbye to your personal room."
"Yes, sir.", George said with a faked fearful expression.
Before coming to the castle, Drodosis had scanned George's body and mental health.
[Beep! Name: George. Strength – 2.4 | Agility – 1.9 | Physique – 3.0. Status: Injured. Perks: Beginner Curved Dagger mastery, Partial Lizard Regeneration (Life expectancy reduced by 20%, +200% regeneration rate), ...]
A knight's breakthrough truly had wonderful benefits with it. However, Drodosis also realized that there were no free meals in this world.
In exchange for regeneration prowess, George lost 20% of his life expectancy, permanently. Drodosis knew that George was also lucky as he didn't succumb to madness. He managed to control his innate instinct, that were now awakened inside him. The main factor that caused George to retain control over his action, and rationality overall, was his loyalty and gratefulness towards Drodosis. Otherwise, there would have been a very high probability of George becoming an abnormality, a monster created out of greed.
Drodosis – 'Shit…I didn't expect to get grounded for three entire months. I will not be able to see Arnold at this rate!'
As days passed, Drodosis became increasingly disciplined. After seeing how vulnerable he was in front of beasts, Drodosis didn't want the life and death battle he went through to repeat again. If George didn't possess abnormal regeneration rate, his arm would have been crippled forever. While he will need a few years before returning to his peak condition, it was already a bliss.
George – "Young master, do you want me to do anything, today?"
Drodosis didn't want George to leave his side, so he ordered the latter to hide his strength. Moreover, with his current injured status, his father wouldn't check on his knight progress.
Knights were so rare to the point that not even 2% of preparatory knights break through the knight realm in their lifetime. And preparatory knights are anything but common.
Drodosis had been replaying the scene of his combat against the Oversized Dire Lizard, over and over again, in order to gain a few insights on how to progress. From the footage, he was actually able to get a few hints on how to break through the knight realm in the future, and more importantly, he found a way to improve his technique at a speed three to five times faster than it would have been.
'With pressure, hard work pays.'
Except that, Drodosis faked the pressure.
What doesn't kill you make you stronger. Following this well-known saying, Drodosis decided to use his biochip to simulate combat in his room. This caused his skills to rise in quality, at a very high speed.
From an intermediate swordsman who had zero to little experience, he was gradually making up for his shortcoming by fighting simulations, and he was slowly surpassing veterans like Lara in pure technique.
However, his swordsmanship progress could only be considered good, when compared to the progress he made with his crossbow marksmanship. He learnt to reload his crossbow faster, using dexterity and muscle memory to hasten the process. However, it was just the tip of the iceberg. Shooting 3000 to 5000 times a day, Drodosis was breaking one crossbow per week, making everyone worry. However, after relentless training, Drodosis broke through the intermediate Crossbow Marksmanship realm.
Days passed, and besides the daily meditation, Drodosis also used George to hunt and buy special kind of ingredients, cooked in secret by Henri, who was growing more and more fond of the young master who somehow gave him eccentric requests.
[Beep! Crossbow bolt accurately shot. Repeat the action 13 222 more times in order to earn a 0.01 bonus in strength.]
[Medicinal Bath, using Comfrey herbs, Kerrosby's flower…effects: +0.003 Physique and agility.]
[Beep! Thornfield-style chop. Skill deviation: 0%. Repeat the action 688 more times in order to earn a 0.005 bonus in agility, physique and strength.]
[Beep! Daily Breathing Cycle completed. Effects: +0.004 Physique, +0.07 Strength and Agility.]
However, these gains were a laughing matter, when compared to the one-time delicacy made from the Oversized Dire Lizard's heart and kidney, which was supposedly king of the Great forest.
He had gained a 0.08 bonus in strength and physique this day, which was more or less equal to a week's worth of hard work.
Days passed at a quick speed. And before anyone realized, two weeks had passed already, without Drodosis getting out of his room. Since there was a bathroom integrated in his immense room, he didn't even have an excuse to wash himself.
'Boring…'
Boringness. There was only one word to describe this punishment. Internet didn't exist, and most of the time, Drodosis was in so much pain from his training that he could barely move. Except for the daily medicinal bathing period he loved, or the delicacies brought in secret by George, Drodosis expected nothing. Playing with Pyro was quite fun, but Pyro seemed to have to sleep a lot, since it slept about 18 hours a day, leaving only a small margin of 'playing' time.
Hence, Drodosis learnt to occupy himself in a medieval world, and one of his new 'occupation', became research.
No matter how you looked at it, be it Drodosis or even George himself, there shouldn't be any way for them to actually beat a beast as strong as the Oversized Dire Lizard. It was so ridiculous that Drodosis had trouble believing they had managed to do it.
And, if you thought about it, most of the credit could be attributed to Drodosis' Yellow Vein-bursting poison. Drodosis knew about its effects, but 8 shots were all that sufficed to take down a beast that was over 4 meters long, weighing several tons. 8 shots, with barely 5 to 10 millilitres of the poison, since he had specifically increased the dose, in this eventful day.
So basically, the rumours of a ghost haunting the castle at night…were actually not true. It was Drodosis experimenting on various compositions at night, sometimes resulting in explosions, sometimes resulting in smelly stench.
And at this moment, fifteen days after he was grounded, he initiated the 1233rd experiment.
[Beep! Initializing 1233rd experiment!]
[Core idea: Mix the dragon glass which possess explosion properties with Sorrow petals in order to supress the violent nature of dragon glass, making the potion unnoticeable when spreading into the body. To make the potion even more vicious, it is recommended to add assassin mint in order to turn the solution into a transparent liquid…]
[Beep! New Alchemical Poison Brewed! Please name the solution.]
"Mm, similarly to the Yellow Vein-bursting poison, this one is actually more lethal, only spreading through cell-contact. It isn't noticeable, unless it reaches the brain, and when it comes in contact with neurones, the unnoticeable molecule of Dragon Grass within this solution burst, exploding the brain. Unlike the Yellow Vein-bursting poison, it cannot be limited with congestion or will. It spreads, whether you want it to, or not. The only downside is its expansive manufacturing cost, requiring Dragon Grass that cost me 30 gold coins for one set, or worse, the assassin mint plant, which costs 50 gold coins per kilogram! Since it has explosion properties, why don't I call it, unseen death?"
[Beep! Unseen Death Poison have been registered. Properties: Burst the brain of the target, as long as its physique is below 5 points of physique, after 1 to 20 minutes spreading through the body. If the target possesses more than 5 points of physique, then the poison will only deal light to heavy damage to the brain. Pro: Efficient, unnoticeable. Con: Expansive, need to make contact with enemy's skin tissue (ineffective against heavy armoured unit), can be neutralized with 300 grams of Vollamon Seeds (a rare product though), or with heavy amount of life force.]
Only fifteen days passed, yet Drodosis could see his body undergo some crazy changes.
[Beep! Name: Drodosis Thornfield (8-years-old, 6 months). Strength – 0.88 | Agility – 1.02 | Physique – 1.34 | Status: Slightly Injured. Perks: Noble Charisma, Well-developed Brain (24% improved time reaction, 60% improved memory), Intermediate Crossbow Marksmanship, Intermediate Swordsmanship, Thornfield Swordsmanship Chop (Chops and slashes benefit from a 0.5 bonus in strength), Intermediate Alchemy Mastery.]
'Alpha! Why do my strength, agility and physique improved so much? I seem to have gained as much in two weeks as I would normally have in several months!'
[Beep! Host has killed a creature much stronger than himself. In this world, it seems that battles are somehow rewarded. This is the reason why wars are so popular: fighting leads to comprehension, breaking through like George, and unnoticeably, attribute increases as well. While it is not a direct increase, it still alleviates a few barriers. In host's case, it is the barrier of age. Host's growth rate was previously a bit slowed down because of immature body. This process is often mentionned in ancient books as the "action of the world consciousness". As mysterious as it seems, the existence of this consciousness is undeniable.]
'So it means that the more I kill, the more I will progress?"
[Beep! Nothing is sure, but it seems like it is the case. However, it is not about quantity, nor quality. It is about difficulty. The more you struggle, the more rewards you will gain by emerging victorious. It is also the reason why you managed to break through with crossbow marksmanship, even though there were no 'real enemies' to speak of, only virtual targets.]
George's pov:
In the meantime, George was guarding Drodosis' door like a loyal butler. Since Drodosis had been punished, George felt guilt rampaging his mental health. However, every time he encountered Drodosis, he felt something…like mixed feelings of pain and deep worry.
'The last time I met young master, there were arrows impaled in the wall…and there were hundreds of sword slashes marks on the walls…What can I do? I am afraid young master is too young to suffer deep isolation!'
Of course, these marks of 'madness' were the results of Drodosis' simulated battles, but George had no way of knowing that. The more Drodosis 'trained', the more worried George became.
After an extended period of time, George decided to open up to his new friend Henri.
"What can I do? Young master cannot bear isolation anymore, and we were grounded because I wasn't able to successfully help him.", George finally decided to speak, after a good twenty seconds staring.
"Well, the last time I saw him, I can assure you his mental state was quite good…", Henri mumbled, "But it's true he did order me about 8 kilograms of meat. I know he has a pet, but for a cub and a young child, it's…an over-exaggerated amount. Do you think we should talk to Mistress Helena?"
"No, definitely not. What if she blames us instead of herself?", George said with a pale face. He was remembering the harsh training in his youth, when Helena herself was ordering him around, forcefully inculcating him knowledge of geography, cooking, butler basic knowledge, mathematics…, "definitely not. We must find a good excuse!"
"Then, what if we sent a little maid to play with him?", Henri asked, "It might be a bit early, but in the future, he will definitely get concubines, don't you think?"
"No, we must not defy Roland's orders", George said after a great deal of hesitation.
While a series of gossips spread in the castle, a much more important danger was looming over the Kerrosby Valley, one that would forever change the life of its inhabitants: a goblin society was being formed.
In the subterranean world, countless dangerous species fought for supremacies and monopoly over the few resources, be it metal, ores, or subterranean rare flowers and plants which had medicinal and nutritious properties.
Goblins, orcs, dark elves and the many giant insect species fought on a daily basis, since coming out to the open world was dangerous. Over and over again, humans led expeditions to get rid of subterranean species, and every time, it was a sheer massacre.
However, this time, the goblins were hungry. They had no choice.
8 600 goblin warriors suddenly marched. And their first step of conquest was: The Kerrosby Valley. Goblins weren't strong, individually. However, their innate savagery and their sheer numbers made them dangerous. No matter how many of them you killed, they would find a way to hide, breed, and come back with even more numbers. Moreover, this time, there was a shaman guiding their paths.
Goblin shamans, similar to 'human acolytes', were special beings with a mutation in their body, enabling them to use mana in order to cast spell. While the spells themselves weren't extremely strong, goblin shamans were often feared because of their ruthlessness and their intelligence.
They knew their superiority, and they used fear to control subordinates. If a goblin didn't hear his orders, he would beat him to death. And the legend according to which mages are weak physically didn't apply in the real world. Intelligent people know the worth of having a healthy and strong body. Why would they dismiss such an important thing?
Anyway, as nearby villages were peacefully living their lives, farming the lands, attending to morning prayers…a calamity was about to strike them.